“There’s no proof of any such thing!” Sternhafen snapped, but something flickered in his eyes, and Rabenstrange snorted.

“The problem is that there’s no proof at all,” the herzog shot back. “And because you—you, Herr Graf, and no one else—refused even to consider the possibility that Gortz might have been in error, this entire situation is in the process of spiraling completely out of control.”

“I did no more than exercise my legitimate authority as the Empire’s representative in Silesia, and I’m prepared to face whatever inquiry His Imperial Majesty may feel appropriate,” Sternhafen replied. His effort at noble defiance fell considerably short of total success, and Rabenstrange’s lip curled.

“That’s very courageous of you, Herr Graf. Unfortunately, His Majesty isn’t prepared to have your incredible incompetence aired for all the galaxy to see. Obviously, I’ve had no time to confer with him on this matter, but the instructions I was given before being sent out here leave me in no doubt as to what the Imperial policy will be in the wake of this incident. By issuing your formal statement ‘explaining’ the Zoraster Incident, you’ve committed us to a policy of denying that the Star Kingdom might have acted properly in this case. I can do nothing else, no matter how much I might wish to, because to admit anything else at this late date would look like an act of weakness, rather than the act of strength an immediate and thorough investigation would have been.”

“Caving in to the Manticoran version of events would have been the act of weakness!” Sternhafen protested.

“That conclusion,” Rabenstrange said coldly and precisely, “is the product of your own stupidity and prejudice against the Star Kingdom. It would have been a simple matter for us to investigate from a position of strength. For us to move in and secure temporary control of the entire Zoraster System in order to be certain all relevant evidence still in the system was preserved. We could have asserted our authority to conduct the investigation ourselves, and I have no doubt whatsoever that High Ridge would have instructed Duchess Harrington to give us a free hand in that investigation… which she would have been inclined to do in the first place because, unlike you, she is a decent and open-minded individual. But that concession from High Ridge would have established his government’s acceptance of our primacy as the interstellar police force with paramount jurisdiction in this instance, thus granting us equality with the Star Kingdom in dealing with Silesian lawlessness. And when, at the end of our investigation, our report to the galaxy at large didn’t attempt to whitewash the actions of our commander on the spot, we would have emerged from the incident as a mature, responsible force in Silesia. Our willingness to admit when we ourselves were the ones at fault would have made us a voice of reason in a region whose anarchy and lack of effective central authority promote outrages like the slave trade which provoked the entire tragic incident. Which, you idiot, would have given us the moral highroad for our annexation of critical territory here as the means of putting an end to that same anarchy!”